Well done to our new 2017 class! They did a terrific job challenging themselves and being brave today during our first excursion of the year to the Outdoor Education Centre at Morisset. We had lots of fun and I was very impressed with everyone’s effort and support of one another. Have a look at our photos below!
Tag Archive | excursions
Revolution!
What a wonderful way to celebrate a successful 2016! Thanks to all of our Year 5/6 students who did a great job during our excursion to Revolution on Wednesday. We had lots of fun and used up lots of energy! Have a look at the photos below, in particular the hilarious bubble soccer.
Thinkfest Success!
Congratulations to the OC who did a wonderful job at our Thinkfest event today. Excellent performances, team work and enthusiasm from all groups and lots of awards! If you would like to watch students perform their skits, our English and Visual Arts group will be performing at our Week 7 assembly and our Science and Maths group will perform at our Week 8 assembly.
Well done to our Visual Arts group – Griffin, Ember, Sia, Eleanor, Elsie, Eliza and Layla (who did an amazing job stepping in for Eliza today) – who were the overall winners in their category and also won Best Backdrop, Best Visual Diary, Best Script and Best Skit Solution.
Well done to our English group – Sophia, Celeste, Mila, Cai, Freya, Chloe and Layla – who won Best Backdrop, Best Script and Best Video Trailer.
Well done to our Maths group – Vincent, Calvin, Ty, Patrick, Sachin, Oscar, Blade and Zander – who won Best Backdrop, Best Performance Skills and Highly Commended for Teamwork.
Well done to our Science group – Sam, Jarvis, Liana, Sam, Elijah, Noah and Duncan – who won Best Backdrop, Best Script and Highly Commended for Teamwork.
Thinkfest – almost there!
It has been a very busy/crazy/hectic/fun few weeks preparing for this year’s Thinkfest. We will head off on Wednesday to perform, so please ensure students have brought in their permission notes and payment. I’m so proud of the wonderful efforts everyone has made. You can see from the photos below just how much hard work goes into getting this all organised. Well done, OC!
Canberra Excursion 2016
Congratulations to all our wonderful students for their fabulous effort, participation and behaviour during our Canberra excursion. I hope you had a restful and relaxing weekend – enjoy all the photos below!
Our first stop was at Old Parliament House to the Australian Electoral Commission where we participated in a range of democracy and election activities.
We were very lucky to take part in the closing ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. Well done to Vincent and Phoebe who did a brilliant job laying a wreath on behalf of our school.
Enjoying the view from Mount Ainslie Lookout!
We enjoyed a fantastic night tour of the Dinosaur Museum and learnt all kinds of interesting facts and splurged in the awesome gift shop.
Great effort and questions from students as we toured the amazing artworks at the National Art Gallery.
We were so excited to watch a very thrilling question time in the House of Reps and enjoyed a tour of Parliament House and role play activities. We were also fortunate to meet our local member, Sharon Claydon!
Making some money (literally!) at the Mint.
Gorgeous 360 degree views from Telstra Tower!
An amazing evening visit to Questacon! So many fun and interactive science gadgets to explore.
Our Games Night was aptly titled Fashion, Funk and Fitness! Students had a great time working in groups to complete a range of hilarious challenges.
Our final event was a visit to the Australian Institute of Sport where we took part in a tour of the incredible facilities and put our sporting skills to the test in the Sportex arena.
What an amazing 3 days we had!
Year 6 Digital Day Out
Year 6 had a wonderful day at the University of Newcastle last Friday with their family members and Miss Drew. They got to experiment with robot carts, Makey Makey machines and created their own version of a Rube Goldberg’s machine. Great work everyone!
Science & Engineering Day!
This week the OC attended the Science & Engineering Challenge at St Therese’s School in New Lambton. We took part in a variety of team challenges including bridge building, creating a mini catapult, making an electricity network, building an earthquake stable tower and designing a chair for pets. We had a wonderful day and were very pleased to finish 3rd. Well done, everyone!
Year 5 STEM Festival
Well done to the Year 5 students who attended yesterday’s Hunter Valley STEM Festival to compete in the Jaguar Primary School Challenge for 2016. Students headed off first thing in the morning to the Forum at the University of Newcastle to race their model Jaguar race cars that they have been busy designing, constructing, and modifying for the past 2 weeks. This has been a fantastic opportunity for students to experience another application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills and for them to be part of their own mini pit crew. Students were put into teams consisting of a Manager, Engineer, and Graphic Designer. They worked together to develop a design for their Jaguar race car and research modifications that could be made to add wings and spoilers that could potentially give their Jaguar an advantage on the track. Yesterday, students were able to see how well their modifications had worked by placing their cars on a tether line and inserting a compressed CO² canister into the back of their Jaguar. Students then had the challenge of trying to achieve the best reaction time possible at the start line as their Jaguars zoomed down the track. Students were also able to look at a host of interactive exhibits from High School challenges.
Congratulations to the Melissa McCARthys team who scored the best reaction time and race time for Tighes Hill! Here are photos and videos from the day. Enjoy!
Healthy Harold
Today we had our excursion to the Life Education Centre at Edgeworth. We participated in a great program called It’s Your Call which was about decision making, cyber safety and drug and alcohol awareness. Students also took home an information sheet which outlines the key messages of today’s visit. A huge thank you to our wonderful presenter, Leisa. It was great to see everyone was still very excited to meet Healthy Harold. Calvin was lucky enough to take Harold on in a Dance Off!
Term 3 Events
With Term 3 well and truly underway, below is an overview of some of the opportunities and learning programs students will be involved in throughout the term. Remember to visit the OC Events page as I will be updating it regularly throughout the term when dates and information become available.
This term we are very lucky to have Flossy Hamiltons from UoN completing her internship in our class. Miss Hamiltons has already begun working with students, teaching a variety of lessons and is doing a great job getting involved in OC life.
Education Week – Grandparent’s Day
Next week is Education Week and we will be celebrating on Wednesday 3rd August between 11:40am-1.55pm. We’d love you to come along as our Y5/6 students will be leading STEM activities in our K-4 classes throughout the middle session. We are also having a shared lunch from 1pm – remember to order your sausage sizzle!
Homework
Homework for students began this week (Week 2). Included in our homework menu this term, students will have the option to work on past papers for the Newcastle Permanent maths competition which is coming up in a few weeks. This term’s speaking and listening task has also been sent home and is due in Week 6.
Class Needs
It’s that time of year when many students need to replenish materials and equipment. Please encourage your child to bring the required equipment each day, in particular – glue stick, USB, headphones, BYOD and pens. We are also running low on tissues.
Mastery Core Value
This term we are focusing on the core value of quality. Students who achieve 5 mastery ribbons will be inducted into our Hall of Fame during our special assembly in Week 10.
Reading
This term students will be studying the class novel Animal Farm by George Orwelll which ties in well with our History topic of Government. Students will also be learning about the concepts of allegory and satire.
Writing
This term our major focus is on informative texts. Students will be learning about a variety of devices used to create effective informative texts.
Students are currently working on an imaginative piece of writing for this year’s Board of Studies Write On competition. Our best entry will be submitted to represent our school for Stage 3.
Mathematics
During our maths sessions, students will work in groups, covering a different strand each week. The maths content we will be covering this term includes: Fractions & Decimals, Volume & Capacity, Mass, Patterns & Algebra, Chance, Length, Area and Data. Students will continue their participation the in annual Maths Olympiad and Maths Games– 3 to go! So far, students have been doing a terrific job solving these challenging problems. Students also have the opportunity to access past Olympiad papers as part of the homework options.
The ICAS Maths competition is coming up in Week 5 and the Australian Maths competition this week for students who have paid. All students in Year 5 and 6 will take part in the Newcastle Permanent Maths competition in Week 6.
Premier’s Reading Challenge
Well done to the students who are taking part in this year’s challenge and who have been entering their books online. There’s not long to go – all reading logs need to be completed by 19/8/16 (end of Week 5) for validation. Keep reading!!
Premier’s Spelling Bee
One of my favourite events – the Premier’s Spelling Bee – will be taking place this term in Week 5. Information will be sent home soon for students who wish to participate. Parents and carers will also have the opportunity to come and watch the Spelling Bee.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
At the end of this term we will again hold parent/teacher interviews to discuss student progress and development. These interviews will also allow the opportunity to review student’s Individual Educational Plans (IEP). The online booking system will again be used and information regarding this will be sent home in a few weeks.
Excursions
Our first excursion is next week – Thursday 4th August, where we will be heading out to Cameron Park Raceway to participate in the Mini EV Solar Cart practice day event in preparation for Race Day on Saturday 13th August.
We are also participating in Life Education on Thursday 11th August. The cost of this excursion is $10 and notes have been sent home.
The OC will also be taking part in the Science and Engineering Discovery Day in Week 8. Permission notes will be sent home later this term.
Our top 5 Chess players (Connor, Akira, Jamie, Noah and Oscar) have been invited to compete in the semi-finals at Coal Point PS in Week 4. Good luck!
Our excursion to Aladdin the Musical will take place in Week 9 on Wednesday 14th September for those students who booked a seat.
History
This term students will take part in the unit Australian as a Nation: Federal Government. Students will have the opportunity to learn about federation, types of government, voting, women’s suffrage and indigenous culture. This also ties in with our Canberra excursion taking place early Term 4.
Techno Buddies
Last term our class worked with 1E for the Writing Buddies program. This term we will be focusing on technology where students will have the opportunity to share their technological skills with our younger students and create and use projects using our class iPads, devices and computers.
CEP Outdoor Festival
Our school will be taking part in the Callaghan Education Pathways (CEP) Outdoor Media Festival in Term 4. This event was very successful last year with many schools in our cluster participating. Part of the festival involves a short film screening and the OC have the task of making a film for our school. We will begin working on our filming project this term. Information about the CEP Outdoor Festival will be sent out towards the end of this term.
Events
This term has already been quite busy with lots of events taking place.
Many of the students in the OC are part of our Cluster Choir and have been busy rehearsing for their event later this term.
We are also organising a whole school Mini-Olympics event in Week 6 this term which is going to be lots of fun. More information regarding that will be sent home in the coming weeks.
There are a variety of sporting events including Zone Athletics, T20 Cricket and a Touch Footy Gala day coming up this term for students to participate in.
Book Week will take place in Week 8 this term with our annual parade on Tuesday 6th September. This year’s theme is about Australian Stories and I encourage all students to get involved and dress up.
Year 6 have the opportunity to take part in the Interrelate: Moving Into the Teen Years program this term. Notes will be sent home next week.
In Week 10 this term, students will be organising our Year 5/6 Fair which is a fun celebration day for all students and our major fundraising initiative for our Year 6 Farewell and school gift.
Finally, congratulations to all the students who have had a wonderful start to the term. There’s lots of things going on each and everyday and it’s so great to see the effort and initiative individual students show, getting involved in a number of different aspects of school life. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding OC learning programs or events.